Tánaiste welcomes passing of Student Support Bill by Seanad Éireann [education.ie]
- Published: 25 January 2011
The Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills,Mary Coughlan TD, today welcomed completion of the final stages of the Student Support Bill in the Houses of the Oireachtas.
The Bill is likely to be one of the last pieces of legislation passed by the current Dáil and Seanad and it is expected that the Bill will be signed into law by the President in the coming days.
The Tánaiste said: "this is the most comprehensive piece of legislation on student grants in more than 40 years and I am confident that it will facilitate huge improvements in the way that students apply for and receive their grants.
"The Bill will enable the introduction of a single new student grant scheme to replace the four existing schemes, and this should be in place for the coming academic year, 2011/12.
"This will be followed by the designation of a single grant awarding authority in 2012 to take over from the 66 local authorities and VECs through which the schemes are currently administered, enabling all grant applications to be processed and paid centrally in the future," said the Tánaiste.
Full Story: www.education.ie
Croke Park Implementation [DES Circular 0008/2011]
- Published: 25 January 2011
- Forfheidhmiú Pháirc an Chrócaigh (Leagan Gaeilge)
- Croke Park Implementation (Leagan Béarla)
Teacher unions to hold second ballot on reform deal [IrishTimes]
- Published: 24 January 2011
SECONDARY TEACHER unions are to reballot members on the Croke Park agreement after the Department of Education clarified aspects of the deal.
The executive of the Association of Secondary Teachers, Ireland (ASTI) decided at the weekend to hold a new ballot.The Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI) will also reballot members shortly.
Last year, the ASTI’s 18,000 members rejected the Croke Park deal by a decisive margin in line with a recommendation from its executive. But the executive is making no recommendation in advance of the latest ballot.
Instead, a document has been issued to the ASTI’s members which details the outcome of recent “clarification” talks between the ASTI and the department.
The Croke Park deal on public service reform promises no pay cuts or compulsory redundancies until 2014 in exchange for modernisation measures. The deal was backed by the wider public service trade union movement and the largest teacher union, the INTO.
It was rejected though by the ASTI and the TUI.
ASTI’s general secretary Pat King said: “The ASTI central executive council has always been adamant that frontline teachers working in classrooms all over the country would have the final say on the outcome of the talks between the ASTI and the Department of Education and Skills.
“This ballot is of utmost importance as it has major implications for the pay, working conditions and job security of second-level teachers.”
Full Story: www.irishtimes.com
Labour sets out plan for better levels of literacy [IrishTimes]
- Published: 24 January 2011
A PLAN published by the Labour Party yesterday proposes to make it mandatory for primary schools to spend a specific amount of time each day on improving literacy levels among pupils.
Under the plan, which the party says will be incorporated into any programme for government in which it is involved, regular primary schools will have to devote a minimum of 90 minutes of class time to literacy instruction each day. Disadvantaged primary schools will be required to teach literacy for 120 to 180 minutes a day.
“If schools are not delivering improved literacy results, consideration will be given to extending the primary school day by half an hour in those schools, to allow for an extension of the time available to teaching literacy,” its policy document Reading as a Right states.
It envisages each primary school having a literacy plan with target outcomes for class groups and “a comprehensive, regularised and universal pre-school year” for all children.
Each secondary school will also have to draw up a plan to improve literacy levels. Responsibility for improving literacy in each school will be vested in the principal.
Literacy summer camps would also be provided in disadvantaged areas while whole community literacy projects would be initiated to target literacy “blackspots”.
Labour’s education spokesman Ruairí Quinn said no child should leave school unable to read and write, yet every year thousands do.
He said child literacy rates in Ireland had not improved since 1980 despite more investment and smaller classes. “One in 10 primary school children – that is 50,000 pupils – has serious literacy difficulties. Radical action to break this plateau is long overdue.”
Full Story: www.irishtimes.com
Tánaiste announces Department’s school building work programme for 2011 and plans to establish new post primary schools [education.ie]
- Published: 24 January 2011
The Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills, Mary Coughlan, TD, today announced details of the work that will be proceeding under the Department’s school building programme in 2011.
The Tánaiste also announced plans to establish a further nine new post primary schools which will open between 2012 and 2016.
Department’s 2011 school building work programme
"I am publishing details of the work programme for 2011. This includes new projects and those currently approved, outlining their planned progression and targets for 2011," she said.- 102 projects will begin the process of appointing design teams (architect, engineer and quantity surveyor) in 2011. The design teams will then begin work on designing major projects for the schools in question.
- 42 schools are currently being advanced to secure planning permission, with a view to tendering as soon as planning has been secured.
- 41 schools - each major building projects - will go to tender in 2011.
- 48 further major projects, currently at tender stage, are scheduled to award contracts in 2011 and will start on site as soon as possible thereafter.
- 51 major school building projects which are currently on-site and work will continue on these during the year.
- 123 other schools on which design teams are presently deployed are being progressed through the system.
"Details of all these projects will be published on my Department’s website, allowing schools to see where their project stands at present.
"These major projects are in addition to the ongoing work on small to medium scale works in schools around the country, funded by my Department. In this regard, applications for the Summer Works Scheme 2011 have been received in my Department and are currently being assessed," said the Tánaiste.
"Unfortunately, it is not possible to progress all projects at once. This means that it was necessary to prioritise those projects which meet the most urgent needs. I recognise that this means that there will be some schools unhappy that their project will not be progressing to tender and construction in 2011." However, these projects will be considered for progression in future years under the multi-annual school building and modernisation programme.
With regard to projects which are currently in the design process, officials from the Department will be in contact with school authorities to evaluate project progress to date and to plan the project targets for this year.
Full Story: www.education.ie
